Beauty in the Breakdown
by Margaret Delancy
Summary: With everyone at the Jeffersonian starting their own families, Sweets is worried they will leave him behind. Series of oneshots exploring Sweets' thoughts on B&B in particular. Minor spoilers.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Just a little something I threw together. I don't really read Bones fanfiction, so if this idea was already done, I wasn't trying to copy or take the idea. Sweets treating B&B like parents is just adorable to me.

Beauty in the Breakdown

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><p>Lance knew he wasn't thinking rationally about the situation. But that didn't seem to stop the thoughts buzzing through his head to quiet themselves in the least. It wasn't as if the people who he had come to accept as friends—family, even, were going to up and leave; but with everyone at the Jeffersonian starting their own families, what was going to happen to him?<p>

Gentle notes reverberated from the piano, just close enough together to be considered a song. Lance sat at the bench and let his fingers pluck the keys at will while his mind wandered.

As a therapist, he firmly believed that music was one of the best medicines available if proscribed correctly. As a pianist, he knew how much emotion could be poured into a single line—a single_ note_. It was his one constant source of comfort throughout the years.

He closed his eyes, trying to find some sort of solace in the music now.

This was a completely different situation than the ones he'd faced before. They were not going to be taken away by force—death or otherwise. They were not simply going to _walk out _on him.

Angela and Hodgins were suited perfectly, of that he had no doubt. They were two of his favorite people, in fact. And both of them had hearts big enough to accept anything, to overcome anything together. Their relationship was stable. A constant.

Brennan and Booth, on the other hand... with the news of the impending baby the couple had quickly moved past denial and into a functioning relationship. From what he'd heard from Booth, the couple was already looking for a house together. It was too sudden, even after all the years they had spent dancing around each other. Lance was concerned that at the rate things were going, everything was bound to blow up in their faces.

And he couldn't stand to lose them if that was the case.

As things were now, he was already being pushed from Booth's schedule to make room for the baby.

It had been his intention to show Booth that he could still be useful, still be needed, by getting licensed to carry a gun. And his plan had worked, for a little while. Booth had been so pleased, clapping him on the back and taking him out for a round of drinks on him when he'd been certified. The little mishap involving the ricocheting bullet had actually helped him in the long run. Booth had spent the next week and a half checking in daily on him.

It had made Lance feel almost wanted. Which was ridiculous, because he_ knew _that he was wanted. It was just this damn jealousy over Brennan's baby that was making him think irrationally. He had no reason to feel that his position was being replaced, or that the rest of the team didn't need him around any longer. He knew he was still useful to them.

The only thing he had to do was convince himself of the facts.

Lance clenched his eyes shut, clearing his mind of everything but the music reverberating through his heart, mind, and soul.


	2. Chapter 2

Booth had made a good point that afternoon, when they were literally heading into a tornado.

Lance was so focused on protecting Booth and Brennan's relationship that he had inadvertently moved Daisy to the back burner in all of this. When was the last time that the two of them had shared some quality time alone, without mentioning work, or how Brennan's pregnancy was going, or how Booth was handling the pregnancy?

It was eye opening, to say the least.

What was he becoming, allowing these two coworkers to rule his life so completely? It was ridiculous, viewed in those terms. The two of them were obviously not concerned with the way their relationship was progressing; even if it _was_ rocky at best. Lance knew he shouldn't allow them to control him like they were, but it had grown so hard to separate himself from them. He needed to take a step back from the situation.

Lance made a resolution there in the car to focus more on expanding the other relationships in his life, beginning with his lovely girlfriend Daisy. He would have to remember to call her tonight, to take her out somewhere special.

But of course, by the time that he and Booth were questioning suspects, getting caught up in a tornado, and dealing with an unexpected guest in the form of Brennan, he had once again pushed Daisy from his mind altogether. It wasn't until that night that she even crossed his mind again, and Lance let the guilt crush him as he looked at the clock.

It was too late to even consider calling her at this point.

Lance hardly remembered changing into his pajamas; the next thing he knew, he was wrapped in his blankets in bed, curled up on his side. The light in the hallway was still on, he usually turned it off so that it wouldn't shine under his bedroom door and into his eyes, like it was doing now. But he didn't bother getting up to turn it off now; he just sighed, staring at the strip of light as his mind wandered.

He felt like a child again. He felt like he didn't know himself; like he was looking at his life from some other vantage point where no matter all the shouting he did, nothing was changing.

The strip of light at the bottom of his door grew, stretching until it was shining in his eyes and making him close them tightly. It took a second for him to realize that someone had opened his door and was standing in the frame.

"Mom?" Lance asked. He wasn't sure if he was dreaming or not, if the figure in his doorway was real or all in his head.

"Sweets? Are you alright?" Doctor Brennan's worried tone filled his mind, and Lance shot up. Brennan was here? His first thought was that something must have happened to Booth, that he should have been _with him_, but Brennan looked relieved to see him and came further into the room, leaving the light off as she did so.

"I—Doctor Brennan," Lance fumbled for words. "Is...is everything alright?" He pulled the blanket up higher over his chest, feeling oddly self-conscious as Brennan sat on the edge of his bed.

"You weren't answering your phone. Booth was concerned, so we came by to make sure everything was okay." Her eyes softened, and she patted his leg through the blankets comfortingly. Lance's brows furrowed. Brennan's hormones must have been particularly messed up that night, he considered. Brennan was never this...overly friendly toward him before.

Lance closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. It was going to be hard to distance himself from them if Brennan was going to look at him like that, like she really cared for him. And if Booth was going to suggest they show up at his house to check up on him like this.

At the approaching footsteps Lance opened his eyes again.

"Don't let her lie to you, Sweets. She was more worried than I was; I told her you probably had Daisy over for the night." Lance couldn't help but smile back at the mirth in Booth's eyes.

It was comforting to know that if something_ did_ happen that Booth and Brennan would have his back, like he would always have theirs.

"Your front door was unlocked." Brennan informed him as she stood up. Booth was instantly at her side, ready to help her at the slightest provocation.

"Right. I'll be sure to lock it before I go back to sleep."

"You know, Sweets... don't you think it would be a good idea if I had a key to your place? In case something actually does... go wrong?" Booth asked. His tone was somewhat flustered—and that confused Lance even further. It was too late for his mind to be working this hard.

What he was asking for wasn't a big deal, and actually a logical decision. He wondered if Brennan had mentioned it to him beforehand. But the way that Booth was acting about it, the tone of his voice, the slightly defensive stance he was taking, as if he were afraid of Lance rejecting him—It all spoke of a deeper meaning.

One that Lance was all too familiar with.

"Of course. I'll bring you one on Monday."

A/N: So after tonight's episode I couldn't resist writing this. This (most likely) doesn't line up with the episode timeline at all; I pretty much just sat down at my computer after the episode and let my inspiration run rampant. Sweets is such a fascinating character to me! There will definitely be more of these oneshots in the future. I would have gone more in depth with this one, but I didn't have the episode right there to rewind and listen to lines, and watch facial expressions and such.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I've been so busy with college that I haven't been able to watch the new Bones until just recently-so here's me trying to catch up on these oneshots that I was GOING to do for each episode. This one's for S7e10. I know 11 came out today, but I haven't had a chance to watch it yet. You can expect an update for that one within the week if all goes according to plan.

Beauty in the Breakdown

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><p>Lance was surprised to hear that Parker was doing better than everyone had assumed with Christine and Brennan and their entire situation.<p>

Booth was still as reluctant as ever to share any information with him, and Lance had yet to figure out how informed Parker had been before he'd met his sister at the airport for the first time. And, Lance figured, he'd probably never find out. Parker had since come and gone, returning to his mother's, and Booth had steadfastly refused to allow him any private time with Parker while he had been here.

He'd been a little put off at that. If anyone was able to relate to how Parker was feeling at the arrival of a sibling and a new family, Lance thought it would be _him_. At least, Lance thought that this stab of pain in his chest at the sight of Brennan and Booth and Christine together had something to do with the fact that he was slowly being cut out from their daily lives.

It was Brennan who came to him the day after she and Booth had spoken to Parker. She watched him enter his office with a small smile. Christine was resting in her arms, her eyes half-lidded as she observed her mother's necklace sleepily.

"Doctor Brennan," Lance hid his surprise easily.

"Doctor Sweets," Brennan responded as she shifted Christine carefully and stood from the chair she'd been waiting in. He waved her back down, and she sat, turning to face him when he leaned against his desk in front of her. Sitting in that big chair behind his desk with her and Christine on the other side made this impromptu meeting too formal for his tastes, and he liked to think that Brennan hadn't intended that formalities be followed when she chose to show up that afternoon.

Lance resisted the urge to pluck Christine from Brennan's arms; from what Booth had mentioned in passing once or twice, Brennan was extremely protective of Christine, and he doubted it would go over well if he didn't ask first.

"Can I help you with anything?" He found himself asking instead.

Brennan shook her head, and then after an awkward pause must have realized that it was her who'd come to wait for him in his office, not the other way around.

"I don't believe we need your help," Brennan responded, glancing down at Christine as she said so, "Booth didn't want to come down here to tell you himself, but." She paused again, shifting Christine once more, and Lance couldn't help but hold out his arms for the child. To Lance's delight, Brennan handed her over carefully, looking on fondly when Christine gurgled happily at him."Parker is doing well—better than we expected—with Christine. He hasn't displayed any symptoms of sibling rivalry or general unease around her aside from what Booth and I misinterpreted from his previous behavior."

"Oh?" This was the first Lance was hearing of a misinterpretation.

"Yes, I'm afraid we jumped to conclusions about Parker's secretive behavior. He was sneaking around and stealing photographs from around the house to make a mobile for Christine," Brennan explained. "I shouldn't have assumed that Parker was going to dislike Christine right from the start like that. It was unjust, even if anthropologically speaking, the evidence was on our side."

"You would have had no way of discerning the truth unless you spoke to him about his behavior, though. And you did, right?" Christine let out a cheery screech as if in response. Lance grinned down at the infant in his arms, letting one of her tiny hands wrap around his finger.

"Yes, of course. Parker seems to be growing appropriately attached to his sister—he's accepted her as a family member."

"That's wonderful to hear, Doctor Brennan." Sweets couldn't meet her eyes, instead he looked at the girl in his arms, wondering just how something so little could impact all their lives in such a huge way.

It was probably for the best that Parker wasn't showing any signs of discomfort adjusting to this new familial lifestyle. Lance was more than jealous and uncomfortable enough for the both of them. He was still trying to work through his own jumbled mess of thoughts and feelings at the moment to try and help a boy as young as Parker anyway.

Christine squeezed Lance's finger, sending him a wink when he looked into her bright eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Just a little something based off of S07E11. I was going to go into more detail with this, but I kind of wanted to keep these snippets as brief as possible, I guess? They aren't really meant to be much more than this, but who knows at this point. It really depends on the feedback I get from you guys, so let me know what you think/want to see/don't want to see!

Beauty in the Breakdown

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><p>Lance still wasn't sure how he'd found himself spending his Saturday night sitting in Brennan and Booth's newly renovated house, Christine gurgling happily at him from his lap. He'd had to cancel plans with Daisy to babysit tonight—all because he couldn't stop himself from acting like a sniveling fool, pining for a scrap of Booth's attention.<p>

It didn't help that his insecurity had been increased tenfold when Booth's irritation at his poor attempts for attention became too obvious for either of them to ignore. Or, too obvious for the part of Lance's brain that was interested on a strictly psychologically-based level to ignore. Some of his fears must have been rubbing off on Booth as well, because it was on the following Thursday after Lance's chat with Brennan that he walked into his office to find Booth sitting casually in his chair.

He wasn't flipping through Lance's paperwork scattered across the desk's surface, which was almost surprising to note. But while Booth was generally uncomfortable with long periods of inactivity and would find just about anything to fill the time, Lance was certain that breaking doctor-patient confidentiality was not something he was prone to doing. It filled Lance with a strange sense of pride at the thought of Booth's upstanding qualities, and he furrowed his brows at the thought—which Booth was quick to judge.

"What?" Booth asked cautiously, sitting up straight in the chair. "What is it?"

"Nothing, just... thinking. Is there anything I can help you with, Agent Booth?" There was something about the entire situation that was staunchly formal in comparison to his conversations with Brennan lately, and Lance felt like their roles should have been reversed. Even with hormones still pumping through her veins at a considerable rate, Lance wouldn't have expected Doctor Brennan to seek him out more often than Booth. His relationship with Booth relationship lately had been ridiculously strained; but Lance was hoping for some improvement, considering that he was here now, actively seeking Lance's company out.

That, or he'd just stopped in for some advice on a case.

"I want to take Bones out this weekend—"

"_What?_" Lance hadn't meant to sound so startled, and the sound made Booth scrunch his nose in the way he'd do when he was anxious.

He put his head in his hand and let out a sigh. "Really, Sweets. I actually made the effort to speak to you about this and you interrupt me for _that._" Lance smiled, probably a little too widely, he was sure, given the circumstances. Booth was falling back on old habits and stalling; for what particular reason, Lance wasn't sure. But he intended to find out, and soon.

"Sorry. Please, feel free to continue." He wasn't going to give Booth the satisfaction of following his lead—he was going to end the game here. Booth dropped his hand away from his face and looked at Lance critically, sizing him up.

"I—Bones trusts you. More than Max." Which wasn't saying much, after what happened with Christine and her grandfather disappearing for an entire afternoon. But Lance would take what he could get. "She'd be more comfortable if _you_ were there."

"Are you asking me to babysit while you take Doctor Brennan out on a date, Agent Booth?"

"Oh, stop with the formalities, will you?"

"If you answer the question."

"Fine! Yes," Booth looked down at his hands as he braced them on the table and stood. "Would you mind looking after Christine for a couple of hours on Saturday? Bones really needs this." There was a quiet moment in the office, where the only noises to be heard was the steady hum of commotion on the other side of the closed door. And then Lance spoke once more.

"Does she need this, or do you?" It was more of a reflex at this point, to question the people around him. Lance wanted to retract the words as soon as he'd let them out. "I can—I _will,_" he responded quickly, before Booth had a chance to snap at him.

"Great!" Booth made sure to clap him on the shoulder as he stepped around him to get to the door. "Christine will be happy to see you."

Lance couldn't wipe the smile from his face for the rest of the afternoon.


End file.
